The Struggle
by Louisaxo
Summary: What would happen if Jackson hadn't been truthful about his marriage to Hayley? What if it was all lies? Can Hayley get rid of Jackson and make herself happy? Please R&R. Rated T for some minor swearing
1. Chapter 1

**The Struggle**

 _ **Hey guys! I have never really written The Originals fiction before and I am rather excited! I have written a crossover between The Originals and Twilight, but never a singular Originals fiction.**_

 _ **Furthermore, I finished the first three seasons of the originals last year, and now sadly the fourth season is about to come to an end. This fiction will be an alternate ending for the episode I Love You, Goodbye. The fourteenth episode of season two when Hayley and Jackson get married.**_

 _ **I'm not sure about you guys, but I am a huge Hayley and Elijah fan, so when Hayley agreed to ditch Elijah and marry Jackson I was rather unhappy.**_

 _ **This fiction will tell the story of what happened if Jackson was not truthful, and he was in fact a conman wanting Hayley for her status in the pack and the fact that she was a hybrid.**_

 _ **I really hope you enjoy this, please review to let me know what you thought.**_

The newly married Hayley Marshall-Kenner stood overlooking the courtyard of the compound. She leant against the railing, watching her new husband and the rest of the pack gather up the chairs from the ceremony. _Husband._ She cringed at the word. Every time she walked into the same room as Elijah, or every time she would speak to him, her heart would beat so fast that she felt like it would explode from her chest. She hated herself for what she had done to him, and countless times she had wanted to do nothing other than run into his arms, knowing that he would happily allow her to be there. Her heart had shattered when he told her that he was moving out of his family home to live in an apartment on the other side of the river. She knew it was her fault. Because she had accepted Klaus' offer to live with them at the compound, Elijah felt the need to leave his home.

Hayley was so immersed in her own thoughts that she didn't hear the conversations that were going on below her, so when she finally focused and her name came up in conversation, her eyebrows furrowed and she moved behind a pillar so she couldn't be seen.

" _I can't believe you pulled it off, man."_ Hayley used her hybrid abilities to hear Oliver speak to his fellow werewolves. She heard Jackson laugh.

"I know. Mary was so worried that it wouldn't work because I wasn't doing the rituals properly, I told her not to worry but you know how she is." Jackson quipped.

"it didn't even take much, Jack. Hayley sure has a pretty face but she isn't all that smart. Hayley Marshall, the all-powerful hybrid alpha, fooled by some two-bit werewolf." Hayley heard one person clap someone on the back in congratulations. She took the opportunity to look around the pillar slowly as to not alert the group of werewolves to her presence.

"So, what are you doing tonight, Jack?" one of the wolves asked.

"I'm going to consummate this thing with Hayley and then I'm going back out into the Bayou, Ana is out there waiting for me." Hayley glowered when he grinned widely.

"I'm sure she is. She's really okay with you being married though?" one of the wolves asked not so quietly. As far as they knew, Elijah was over the river in his new apartment, Klaus was out with Hope, Freya and Rebekah were not at home, and Hayley could not hear them as she was showering upstairs.

"She wasn't happy about it when I first told her, but she's okay with it now. Her only concern that she wouldn't have to turn anymore and that Hayley would be taking up all of my time, but I assured her that I would be out in the Bayou the majority of the time." Jackson answered his friends question.

Hayley felt like a damn fool. She had given up her family, her love, for the marriage to Jackson. She had never felt so stupid in her life. She had pushed away everyone's objections, thinking that she was doing the best thing for Hope. Hope was the sole reason for her marriage, she had even gone as far to tell Jackson and the rest of the pack about her baby daughter, thinking that she could trust them. She was wrong. She tried to think of something other than Jackson as she heard the wolves cheer and whistle as they walked out of the compound. All of the wolves but one. She stopped breathing as she heard Jackson walk up the metal staircase, his old shoes stepping heavily on each step.

"Hayley!" he called out for her as he reached the top step. She let out a shuddered breath and stepped quickly into the closest room. She turned and closed the door quickly, wincing when the old door creaked slightly as it closed. She turned on her heel and walked into the room, signing when she realised it was Elijah's. she moved to his bed, still perfectly made even though he wouldn't be sleeping in it for a while. She sat on the edge of the bed, reaching down to undo the clasps of her shoes, so Jackson could hear them clattering across the floor as she walked. She was both annoyed and happy that she had chosen to run into Elijah's room to avoid Jackson. She was annoyed because it bought up so many good memories for Hayley, mostly memories of her and Elijah. Those memories just made her angrier, angrier at herself and angrier at Jackson. She was annoyed at herself because all of this could have been avoided. If she hadn't been fooled by Jackson's plan, she could not only be happy with her family and her daughter, but she wouldn't have broken Elijah's heart, and her own in the process. But there were also some benefits to this particular room, it was the last place that Jackson would look for Hayley which gave her time to come up with an escape plan.

"Hayley, where are you?" She froze when Jackson called out for her again, slight aggravation in his voice. She listened to see where he was in the compound. She heard his shoes walking across the old floorboards of one of the studies upstairs.

Hayley's first course of action was to see if she could use the balcony that lead off Elijah's room to escape, thankfully the doors were unlocked. She moved to jump up onto the railing when she realised she was still wearing her wedding dress and no shoes. Now she cursed herself for not running into her own, Rebekah's or Freya's room where there would be clothes.

"What the hell." She muttered to herself as she made a beeline for the chest of drawers in Elijah's room. She silently prayed that he had left some clothes behind. She opened the top drawer slowly, not wanting Jackson to hear where she was, and she was relieved when she pulled out a pair of sweats. It was not the type of clothing item that Hayley had expected to find when she opened the drawer. She quickly rooted through the drawer and came up empty for something to cover up her top half, so she threw the sweats onto the bed and rushed towards the closet in search of a shirt. She silently thanked god when the closet doors didn't creak loudly, allowing her to pull out a white shirt silently. Hayley cursed as she tried to unzip her dress on her own, but she grinned when she did it. She stepped out of the white lace dress, discarding it on the old floor. Hayley quickly threw on the sweats and Elijah's shirt, adding a pair of socks to the ensemble when she realised she had no shoes.

"Hayley!" Jackson shouted again. Hayley gasped and spun towards the door when she heard the doorknob creak. Without any regard for him, or her disregarded dress on the floor, or for any bystanders, she sped onto the balcony and over the railing. She landed safely on the pavement, looking around for anyone who could have noticed her supernatural abilities. As soon as she heard Jackson's voice in the room she had just vanished from, she rushed down the street and into the nearest bar, Rousseau's. Hayley looked around the almost empty bar, it wasn't until then that she realised it was almost midnight. Hayley signed in relief when she saw Cami wiping down the bat with a cloth.

"Cami!" Hayley called, walking over to the bar.

"Hay… Hayley." Cami was shocked by Hayley's appearance.

"Cami, I need your help." Cami furrowed her eyebrows and looked up at Hayley, hoping she would explain her dishevelled appearance.

"I'll close up, give me a second." Hayley nodded as Cami walked around to each or the tables, alerting each customer that they were closing. As soon as everyone was out, Cami deadbolted the door and made her way back over to Hayley, snatching a bottle of whiskey and two glasses from the bar on her way past.

"First question, are you okay? You look like you just made a great escape from somewhere." Cami laughed, not realising she just described the situation.

"I did." Hayley answered, reaching for the bottle of whiskey and pouring some into both glasses.

"You did? What? Why?" Cami's eyebrows narrowed.

"It was all a trick, everything was a lie." Hayley started.

Cami said nothing, allowing Hayley to continue.

"When I married Jackson, he said that the marriage ritual would allow the pack to gain my hybrid abilities. That was true. The lie was Jackson himself, he promised me that he loved me and that he was going to protect my daughter, but it wasn't true. He's a fraud." Hayley continued, explaining what she had heard when the wolves were standing in the courtyard.

Cami was silent when Hayley finished talking.

"Oh my god, Hayley, I'm so sorry." Cami reached over to put her hand on top of Hayley's.

"What about Klaus? And Elijah? Do they know?" Hayley shook her head. She knew that Klaus would kill Jackson and all of those that were conspiring against him immediately. She was sure that Elijah would join Klaus.

"What are you going to do?" Cami asked quietly.

"I don't know." Hayley reached for the whiskey and refilled her glass.

"At least there is a bright side, now you can at least try and be happy with Elijah."

Hayley ducked her head.

"What?" Cami asked.

"What am I supposed to say to him? Jackson used me and now I want to be with you?" Hayley ran her hand through her hair as she spoke.

"Elijah loves you, Hayley." Cami spoke with a smile on her face. Hayley smiled, she knew that Elijah loved her, it was what was making the situation so difficult.

"What do you think I should do?" Hayley looked up at Cami as she ran her finger around the rim of her class, catching sight of her wedding ring.

"Tell them?" Cami suggested.

"I'm sure that Jackson would have called Klaus after he realised I was missing, what if Jackson is there when I call? I can't be near him right now I'd tear his head off." Hayley crossed her arms across her chest. Cami thought for a moment before taking her phone from her pocket and dialling a number. Hayley looked up from the table when she heard Cami calling someone on loudspeaker.

" _Camille_." Klaus greeted when he answered the call.

"Hey, where are you?" Cami asked casually.

" _Looking for Hayley, she's missing. Jackson called_." Hayley shot Cami a look that said, 'I told you so'.

"Are you alone?" Cami asked.

"No, I'm with Jackson." He answered. Hayley sighed.

"Can you ditch him for a second? I really need to talk to you?" Cami asked, Hayley knew that Klaus was furrowing his eyebrows.

"I can. Where are you?"

"Rousseau's."

"I'll be there soon." Klaus spoke before ending the call.

"I knew that lying bastard would call Klaus." Hayley muttered to herself. Both her and Camille stood up when the glass door was knocked.

"Klaus." Cami greeted as she let him in.

"What did…" Klaus trailed off when he saw Hayley.

"Hayley? What are you doing here?" he asked, confused.

"I've been here the whole time."

"You mean I've scoured the quarter with your werewolf husband for hours, and you've been _here_ the whole time?" Klaus raised his eyebrows expectantly, awaiting Hayley's answer.

"Sounds about right. Cami called because I'm avoiding Jackson." Hayley answered.

" _Avoiding_? Trouble in paradise already?" Klaus smirked.

"Sort of." Hayley answered him. Klaus' smile vanished.

"Elaborate." He ordered.

"Jackson has been using me the whole time. He was lying about protecting Hope and he was lying about loving me. He's a conman, Klaus." Hayley explained, Klaus glowered in anger.

"Does he know that you know? I assume he didn't tell you this information?" Klaus crossed his arms.

"No, he didn't, I overheard him and some of the pack talking." Hayley spoke, anger colouring her tone.

"Who else knows? Elijah? Rebekah?"

"Nobody but the two of you, I came straight to Cami after I escaped."

"Escaped? Although I do say, Jackson was pissed off that he found your wedding dress in Elijah's room." Klaus laughed.

"That wasn't intentional, it was just the closest room to where I was hiding."

"Right." Klaus smirked, looking down at Hayley's outfit choice.

Hayley rolled her eyes.

"I had to improvise okay? It was the only thing I could find in Elijah's room at such short notice." Klaus' smirk widened.

"Are you telling him?" Cami asked from her seat at the bar.

"Tell who?" Hayley's eyebrows narrowed in confusion.

"Elijah?" Cami elaborated her question.

Hayley shrugged.

"I don't know. I've hurt him enough." She sighed.

"You can do as you please. I, however, am going to kill Jackson." Klaus took two steps backwards before he was stopped.

"Klaus, no." Hayley stopped him, earning herself a glare from Klaus.

"What do you mean, _no_? He conspired against our family and our daughter. I'm putting him down."

"Klaus…" Hayley was interrupted by someone unexpected.

"Niklaus, would you please?" She looked up to see Elijah leaning against the doorframe.

"Elijah. How long have you been there?" Hayley gaped.

"I arrived only moments ago. Why, pray tell, are we killing Jackson?" Elijah walked into the bar, one hand in his trouser pocket.

Cami and Klaus turned to Hayley expectantly, waiting for her to explain the situation to Elijah. When Klaus has waited enough and Hayley said nothing, he took it upon himself to explain.

"Brother, we are killing Jackson because he is a backstabbing wanker who has conspired against our family. And since, you are both a member of that family and the other man holding Hayley's affections, I suggest you join us." Klaus smiled when Hayley glared at him. Her gaze softened when she met Elijah's gaze. As always, his eyes were full of love and adoration, love and adoration for felt she didn't deserve.

"Conspired how?"

"He used me for my abilities, the whole pack knew. They never intended to help Hope at all." Hayley explained, her eyes never leaving Elijah's.

The love and adoration in his eyes turned to anger in a second. Hayley wanted to step forward, be closer to him, but she already knew she had hurt him too much already.

"How do you know that?" Elijah asked, his voice full of anger.

"She heard him talking to a few members of the pack. He wanted to consummate their marriage and then vanish into the Bayou with another girl." Cami answered when Hayley said nothing.

"Right. And I assume that you won't be able to get a divorce?" Elijah questioned, taking his hand from his pocket and letting it hang at his side.

"You assume correctly, it was some backwater ritual. If I go to one of the wolves about this, a wolf elder even, they will laugh in my face." Hayley said, the same amount of anger in her voice as Elijah.

"Even if I tried that route, they aren't going to grant me anything. The only point of this marriage for them is so that they don't have to turn anymore. If Jackson and I got divorced, would they not have my abilities anymore?" Hayley looked at the three people around her for the answer to her question.

"I have no idea. This has to be the shortest marriage on record." Klaus quipped. Hayley stayed quiet, remembering that Klaus hadn't wanted her to marry Jackson in the first place. As she knew Klaus, Hayley knew he was dying to say, 'I told you so'.

"So, _what_ exactly are we going to do?" Elijah asked, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"We aren't killing him. As much as I want to, he has a family. We can't do that." Hayley spoke.

"I beg to differ, he needs to die. Nobody in history has conspired against this family and lived." Klaus argued.

"Niklaus, Hayley is right. Killing is not the correct solution." Elijah agreed with Hayley, she grinned at him in thanks.

"So, what are you suggesting?" Klaus demanded.

"I have nothing to suggest, I'm just saying we aren't killing him." Hayley crossed her arms across her chest as she glared at Klaus.

"We have to think about this logically. We can't just kill him or come up with some half-assed plan. This plan needs to be logical and good, otherwise it won't work." Cami interjected.

"Hayley, you said the ritual worked even though Jackson didn't love you?" Hayley nodded.

"So, he lied about that too. And this is like a legal marriage? Certified and everything?" Came asked another question, Hayley nodded again.

"Right. Even though the ink isn't even dry on the certificate yet, it can't be made nil and void without a sufficient reason. The girl you mentioned, maybe he's already married to her? If he is, you two can't be legally married and you will be granted a divorce?" Cami suggested.

"I have no idea. All I know is her name." Hayley sighed.

"So, we don't know that. I have no idea, I can search it?" Cami reached for her phone and started to type.

"Okay, so, the married can be made void if you are closely related, under the age of sixteen, if the marriage wasn't properly consented to, or if you were pregnant by another before you married." Cami read from her phone.

"So, we can't do that either. We know I'm not related to Jackson and I'm twenty-four. Like a fool I consented to it, and because of my current hybrid status I can't get pregnant." Hayley sighed again.

"Why couldn't this just be a normal courthouse marriage? Then I could have just compelled myself a divorce. I have to be granted it by some bloody tribe elder who most likely takes vervain." Hayley shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she spoke.

"We can always bribe them with their lives." Klaus suggested.

"Not helping, Niklaus."

"Going back to the already married part, we could try that?" Cami suggested, looking hopefully at Hayley.

"How? We don't know whether Jackson is married, and I'm highly doubtful."

"We could ask?" Klaus suggested again.

"Klaus would you…" Hayley's chiding of Klaus was interrupted when Cami spoke.

"Actually, Klaus has a point. Go into the Bayou and ask her. Jackson said she was out there waiting for him. But I wasn't talking about Jackson being married."

Everyone's eyebrows narrowed in confusion.

"Me? I'm not married though?" Hayley asked, not sure what Cami's point was.

"I know that, but they don't." Now everyone was more confused.

"Cami? What are you talking about?" Klaus asked, his confusion evident.

"We could pretend that she was already married when Hayley married Jackson. That would make the marriage void." Cami suggested. Hayley looked at her like she was speaking a foreign language.

"But, how? What do you…" Hayley understood her point when Cami looked pointedly at Elijah.

"Cami! Are you serious!" Hayley cried, her cheeks flushing.

"I have a great idea. Hayley and Elijah can have what I am sure will be a fabulous conversation on their way to the Bayou to see whether Jackson is married to the girl." Klaus smiled in triumph.

Nobody said anything for a moment, but the tension disappeared when Elijah offered his hand to Hayley. She smiled took her hand, he led her out to the Range Rover that was parked outside.

"You're serious? You want to come with me into the Bayou?" Elijah nodded and opened the passenger door for her. She clambered inside, still dressed in sweats and socks.

"Are you sure you don't want to go back to the compound first? I'm sure you're not comfortable?" Elijah gestured to her choice of clothing as he climbed into the driver's side.

"This is plenty comfortable. It was all I could find in your room, I had to make a quick getaway." Elijah's eyes shone with amusement as she spoke.

Elijah started the car and started to drive out of the quarter. There was a silence between them.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly as they got closer to the Bayou.

"I'm okay, Elijah. Just shocked, and I feel so used." Hayley ducked her head and Elijah slowed the car, pulling over to the side of the road. He turned to look at her.

"Hayley this isn't your fault. And still even after everything he did, you still won't kill him. This is _not_ your fault, Hayley."

Hayley looked up at him apprehensively.

"Elijah, I lost everything I had because of this. Because of this, Hope can't come home, and you have moved out of The Quarter. I lost Hope, and I lost you. I don't know what to do, Elijah." Hayley put her head in her hands.

"Hayley." Elijah spoke softly, moving her hair out of the way and lifting her chin with his index finger.

"Hayley, you could never do anything to lose me."

"How can you even stand to be in the same car as me, Elijah? After everything I did, how much I hurt you?"

"I understand why you married Jackson, you wanted to bring your daughter home. We wanted the same thing, you wanted your daughter and I wanted my niece home safely." Elijah moved his hand to cup her cheek.

"Earlier when I was in your room, you wouldn't let me say something. Are you going to allow me to say it now?" Elijah requested. Hayley's gaze mirrored Elijah's as she nodded.

"I love you. Have since I saw you in that cemetery." Hayley's gaze softened as he spoke.

"I know. I love you, too. It started when you swore to protect me, and you lived up to your promise, you still do." Hayley spoke with adoration in her voice.

"Yes, I remember, and then you slapped me." Hayley ducked her head, smiling.

"Yeah, I did." They laughed.

They were interrupted when Elijah's phone started ringing.

"Niklaus." He greeted.

"Are you there yet?" He demanded. Elijah rolled his eyes.

"No, almost though." Elijah answered his question.

"Well when you get back to the quarter, you can come back to the compound. Jackson is in a bar in the same booth he was half an hour ago, I don't think he's coming back tonight." Klaus explained.

"Okay." Elijah answered simply before ending the call.

Without saying a word, Elijah started the car and got back onto the road.

"What do you think? About what Cami said?" Hayley asked him quietly.

Elijah thought for a moment before answering.

"I think that we should see whether Jackson is in fact married before we decide anything." He started. Hayley ducked her head, she shouldn't have thought he would marry her.

"However, I would quite happily marry you if that is what you wanted." He continued. Hayley looked up at him in surprise.

"You'd marry me?" She asked quietly, a grin on her face.

Elijah turned to face her, he nodded and grinned slightly.

"So, noble Elijah."

"Isn't that what men do? Marry the women they love?" Elijah spoke as he slowed the car to a stop on the outskirts to the werewolf camp.

"So how are we doing this?" Hayley asked as she climbed out of the car. Elijah followed suit and they met at the front of the car.

"I don't know, sneak attack?" He suggested.

"Maybe. I just realised something." Hayley looked up at Elijah.

"You just told me you loved me, and yet you haven't kissed me?" Hayley questioned, a smile crossing her features.

"You're right, I haven't." It wasn't a second before Elijah put his hand on Hayley's cheek and pulled her to him, his hand going to her waist and her hands snaking around his neck. After a few moments, he pulled away.

"Better?" He smirked.

"Much." Hayley answered, smiling up at him. She took his hand and lead him through the trees and bushes and into the camp. Everyone looked up when they walked in.

" I'm looking for Ana?" A blonde girl stood up and approached Hayley and Elijah.

"And you are?" She grimaced as she looked the two of them up and down.

"I'm your boyfriend's wife." Hayley grabbed the girls arm and pulled her towards their car.

"You're Hayley?" The blonde looked up and down Hayley again.

"Yes. I'm Hayley." Hayley crossed her arms across her chest, resisting the urge to slap the blonde for her lack of manners.

"And him?" She pointed at Elijah.

"I'm sure you've heard of him, Elijah Mikaelson? All powerful original vampire not to be messed with?" Hayley spoke, anger in her tone.

"What do you want?" Ana crossed her arms.

"I want to know about your relationship with Jackson. How long have you been dating?"

"About a year and a half. I was waiting for him to propose until I found out he was going to marry _you_ to make the pack better."

Hayley glared at the girl until she faltered. Ana took a step back and ran into the encampment.

"Well, now we know they aren't married." Elijah said as they climbed back into the car, headed back to the Quarter.

…

When they got back to the compound, Klaus, Freya and Rebekah were waiting for them in the courtyard.

"Well?" Klaus called as they walked in.

"Not married." Elijah confirmed. Klaus nodded.

"And Cami's plan?" He pushed. Elijah and Hayley looked at each other, their hands still adjoined.

"We'll do it, if it comes to it. You'd be able to get all of the documents sorted so that they predate my marriage to Jackson?" Hayley asked, Klaus nodded.

"Yes, we could get those documents by just compelling the correct people." They nodded, Hayley took a step closer and Elijah moved his arm so it was around her shoulders.

"Hayley!" Jackson shouted as he entered the compound, startling them.

Hayley made no effort to move from Elijah's side.

"Jackson." She greeted, her anger was back.

"What the hell is this?!" He shouted, gesturing to Elijah's arm around Hayley's shoulder.

"Well, Elijah and I had a nice long talk about everything on our way back from talking to Ana." Hayley looked around her family and then back to Jackson.

"Ana?" Jackson acted confused.

"Yes, Ana. I overheard you and your pals earlier talking about how easy it was to get me to marry you. How you used me to get my abilities for the pack. I heard everything Jack." Jackson remained in place, his stoic expression not faltering.

"Hayley, regardless of what you do now, there is _nothing_ you can do to make our marriage void. There's absolutely nothing." A smug look crossed Jackson's face.

"Well you see Jackson, there is something." Hayley started, looking up at Elijah quickly.

Jackson laughed.

"Right, and what is it?"

"You and I aren't legally married." Hayley spoke with confidence, she was not going to allow Jackson the satisfaction of using her.

"Of course, it is Hayley? What on earth made you think it wasn't?"

"Because you can't marry someone else if you're already married."

 **There's the first chapter! There will be another coming soon! I really hope you enjoyed what you were reading, it is a storyline I have been playing around with for a long while.**

 **Please read and review, I want to know what you thought of my storyline and what you thought in general!**

 **As always, lots of love,**

 **Louisaxo**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Struggle**

 **Chapter 2**

 _ **Hi guys! I am back with the second chapter of The Struggle. I was so happy with all of the positive feedback I've had, I can't get enough of it!**_

 _ **Thank you to Bri100, Carvalh09 and my guest reviewer Kate, I am so glad you like my writing!**_

 _ **As always, please review to let me know what you thought!**_

 _ **Louisaxo**_

 _Previously:_

" _Right, and what is it?"_

" _You and I aren't legally married." Hayley spoke with confidence, she was not going to allow Jackson the satisfaction of using her._

" _Of course, we are Hayley? What on earth made you think we weren't?"_

" _Because you can't marry someone else if you're already married."_

…

Jackson stood in the centre of the compound courtyard, gaping. He was completely aghast, at a total loss. He closed his mouth, and then opened it again, no words coming out.

The Mikaelson clan stood in front of him as a group; Hayley and Elijah remained standing together, Rebekah and Freya were to the left, and Niklaus was to the right.

Moments passed, and still nothing was said between the group, the tension was heavy.

"I'm sorry? What did you say?" Jackson asked eventually, his eyes full of fury shifting to Elijah before they landed on Hayley.

Hayley crossed her arms across her chest before answering.

"I _said_ you can't marry someone else legally if you are already married. I was already married when I married you Jackson." Hayley tried to keep her voice calm and collected, not knowing whether her daughter was sleeping upstairs.

Jackson's expression remained enraged. Hayley was sure he was not going to be magnanimous about the situation. After Hayley spoke, there was another pregnant pause, if it was not for the roaring streets of the Quarter it would have been silent.

"You're lying." Jackson accused, not tearing his angry eyes away from Hayley for a moment. She glared.

"Why would I lie to you Jackson? I have been nothing but truthful when it came to our marriage. I told you _everything_ about my daughter, about my past, everything Jack!" Hayley cried, her voice growing progressively louder as she reached the end of her bluster.

Jackson, again, remained silent after Hayley had finished speaking.

It seemed as though Jackson was becoming more aware of the situation as his anger continued to grow.

"I know you are lying, Hayley! Tell me, who are you married to? Him?!" Jackson yelled, pointing at Elijah.

Hayley took a deep, shuddering breath before she looked up at Elijah. She uncrossed her arms and reached for his hand. Hayley let out a long sigh when he nodded and reached for her hand, telling her that it was okay.

"Yes, Jackson. Is that what you wanted to hear?" Hayley's stance didn't falter when Jackson's eyebrows narrowed.

"This is a lie! Why would you marry me if you were already married to _him_?" Jackson asked bluntly, gesturing to Elijah with his right hand.

"Jackson, you know why I did it. I married you to unite my pack and save my daughter. You were _well_ awarethat I didn't love you, that I would _never_ love you when you married me." Hayley was visibly calmer as she spoke, mostly because of the fact that her hand was held tightly by Elijah's.

"Then why did the ritual work then, huh?" Jackson pointed at the stacks of chairs that were yet to be removed from the courtyard.

"I could ask you the same question Jackson. All of the false promises you made to trick me into this farce of a marriage. All you wanted from me was my ability to not turn on a full moon, that's all." Hayley argued.

"Hayley that's not true." Jackson lied.

Hayley rolled her eyes.

"Jackson I've already said that I heard you and talking to other members of the pack in the courtyard earlier, there is no point lying to me now."

Jackson stayed silent again, trying to concoct his next response.

"You can't accuse me of lying when that's _exactly_ what you've done yourself. You lied to be and the pack!" Jackson yelled.

Before Hayley could respond, Rebekah interrupted.

"Technically she didn't lie to anyone. She was never asked about a marriage to anyone else, you just assumed." Rebekah raised her eyebrows at Jackson, knowing he couldn't argue with her logic.

"Right. And what _exactly_ is it that you want Hayley?" Jackson crossed his arms and turned to Hayley, his expression suddenly becoming impassive.

"I want this done, finished. I want you to go to the wolf elders or whoever you need to talk to about this, and tell them that the marriage is void and I want an annulment."

Hayley wasn't sure what kind of response she expected, but she definitely didn't expect Jackson to start laughing, neither did any of the Mikaelson's. resisting the urge to cross her arms across her chest, Hayley spoke slowly.

"Did I say something funny Jackson?" Hayley looked behind her, where the rest of the Mikaelson's, except Elijah, were standing. Klaus and Rebekah looked furious, probably wondering what kind of audacity Jackson thought he had. Freya looked completely astounded, silently acknowledging the backbone that Jackson must have to dare laugh at a Mikaelson, especially when Jackson had seen what happens first hand when Rebekah, Klaus and Elijah are angry. When she looked up at Elijah, the love and affection she had seen not half an hour before was gone. It had been replaced with anger and outrage.

Jackson's hysterics eventually calmed down and he rubbed under his eyes with his hands to wipe away the tears of laughter. All the while, the Mikaelson's stood in front of him, the atmosphere tense.

"Oh, you must be joking. You want an annulment? Well, you can't." Jackson composed himself before speaking.

Hayley frowned, she felt Elijah squeeze her hand in support.

"What do you mean I _can't_?" She demanded.

"Hayley the wolf elders aren't going to give you what you want." Hayley sighed, reaching up with her other hand to run her hand through her hair, her frustration evident.

"And why is that?"

"For a start, the elders are some of the wolves who were at the ceremony, so they got your abilities when the ritual was done. If you get what you want, they go back to transforming on a full moon. It's not happening." Jackson finished speaking, a satisfied smirk on his face.

Hayley sighed again, there was no way she was going to get what she wanted by talking to Jackson. He was never going to give her the annulment she was seeking. Before she said a word, Jackson turned and walk from the compound, a new sense of vim in his step.

"I can't believe the sheer cheek of him." Rebekah scoffed as she watched the door to the compound slam behind Jackson.

"I'm going to set to work getting those marriage documents we need, some assistance sister?" Klaus turned to Freya.

"Actually, I was planning to have Hope for a while, to give Hayley some time to sort some things out." Freya looked pointedly between Hayley and Elijah.

Klaus nodded and turned to his other sister.

"Rebekah?" Rebekah nodded and followed Klaus out of the compound.

"I'll be upstairs if anyone needs anything." Freya smiled and tucked her fringe behind her ear before she walked up the stairs.

Hayley sighed and let go of Elijah's hand for the first time, walking over to one of the several tables in the courtyard. She pulled out a chair and sat down on it, not saying a word. Elijah seemed to realise that she didn't want to say anything about what just happened, like he always knew when she was okay and when she wasn't. Hayley smiled for the first time since Jackson had walked in to the compound when Elijah approached her, crouching down beside her.

"Right now, I wish you hadn't saved Jackson from that fire when I asked you to all that time ago." Hayley murmured, covering her eyes with her hands. She was comforted when Elijah put his hand on her upper back and started to soothingly rub in rhythmic circles.

"You don't mean that, Hayley." He spoke quietly, not stopping his hand for a moment.

"I do. Probably." She smiled slightly, turning in her chair to face Elijah.

"I'm sure you don't. You're too good." Hayley blushed and ducked her head when Elijah grinned. It always gave her butterflies.

"I know I haven't said it yet. But thank you, Elijah. Nobody in my life has ever done anything like this for me before. Actually, nobody in my life had ever been remotely kind to me until I met you, except for the many social workers I've had to deal with, obviously." Hayley smiled and Elijah raised his hand to cup her cheek.

"I promised I would protect you, Hayley. It was not just a temporary promise, it was a promise that I will keep forever. Even now, we are doing this not only because I love you, but I will do anything to make sure you're safe." He promised, she leant into his hand.

"I know, I love you, too." Hayley replied, smiling when Elijah grinned again.

"What are we going to do, Elijah? How are we supposed to bring Hope home now that we don't have the wolves on our side?" Hayley murmured, her main fear being the fact that she would have to give up her daughter again because she wasn't safe.

"We will find a way, Hayley, like we always do. We will fight and beat whoever comes at Hope, as a family." Elijah stood and pulled Hayley up with him, she moved closer and rested her head on his chest. She sighed contently when she felt his arms wrap around her.

"Must remember though, I'm not family." Hayley muttered, not moving her head from its position on the original vampires' chest.

Before Elijah could protest, Rebekah spoke up as she walked into the courtyard.

"Actually, that's not true. As of fifteen minutes ago, you are an honorary Mikaelson." Rebekah held up a cardboard folder as she walked over to the new couple.

"This is everything?" Hayley opened the folder and held it between herself and Elijah.

"Yeah we got everything. Wedding certificate, guest signatures, guest registry, we got everything we could think of. I also sent Niklaus to compel the owner of the florist to believe she did a huge order for the Mikaelson wedding." Hayley nodded, reading over the documents.

"According to the documents, you got married on the sixteenth of April, five months before you married Jackson. The papers are all legitimate so they would all uphold in a court of law if it came to that. We got Cami and Marcel to help out as extra witnesses, Klaus and I were the other. We all signed the guest registry, and I'll take it up for Freya to sign in a moment. All you two need to do is sigh your names on the marriage certificate." Rebekah used her index finger to show Hayley and Elijah where they needed to sign before producing a pen from her pocket.

"Thank you, Rebekah, this means a lot." Hayley thanked Rebekah, who smiled widely and closed the folder, clasping it between her arm and her chest.

"It's no problem at all, after all, who am I to help if not my sister in law." Rebekah nodded her head once in farewell and made her way up the stairs in search of Freya.

It wasn't until Rebekah had said sister in law that it had actually sunk in for Hayley. Elijah noticed this.

"Hayley, are you okay?" He took her hand and lead her towards the table they had vacated minutes before. He pulled out a chair and gently pushed her onto it.

"Hayley?"

"I'm okay, I guess it hadn't sunk in until then. We're married. This is crazy." Hayley smiled, happy, despite the situation they were in.

"I know the circumstances aren't ideal, but it was the best way to get you out of this situation you are in with Jackson." Elijah held both of her hands in his.

"I know they aren't ideal, but I can't help but feel happy right now. Despite everything that has happened and everyone that we have lost, we still found our way back to each other." Elijah raised one of his hands to cup her cheek and used his other hand to keep hold of her hands.

"This is not how I envisioned this happened." Hayley laughed, Elijah chuckled with her.

"I know. But if you wanted to, we could do this properly, when the wolves are gone and everything is safe for Hope. We could have an actual wedding. Neither of us have ever been married, it would be a first for both of us." Hayley smiled and nodded, letting him know that she was happy with what he had said.

"I do. Want that I mean. Besides, firsts aren't really an easy thing to come around when you're a thousand years old." Hayley joked, Elijah appeared to find her joke funny as he laughed.

"So that's everything sorted, what now?" Klaus called as he walked into the courtyard, interrupting Hayley and Elijah's moment.

"I don't know. I have no idea where he went after he left. I'm sure he didn't go and talk to the wolf elders like I asked him to." Hayley stood up and approached Klaus, Elijah one step behind her.

"We do know one thing for sure, Niklaus. Jackson isn't going to simply let this lie, he's going to cause a spectacle until he gets what he wants out of the situation." Elijah said, the winsome smile removed from his face.

"Well what…" Klaus was interrupted when they heard Freya shout upstairs.

"Guys! Get up here! Now!" Freya shouted, her voice resounding from the compound walls.

Elijah, Hayley and Klaus looked at each other, baffled, for a moment before they sped up the stairs and into the living room. Freya was kneeling besides the coffee table, a map scattered with red droplets in front of her. Rebekah was pacing nearby, Hope on her hip. Freya looked up at them when they entered the room, a look of sheer panic on her face.

"Freya? What is it?" Elijah enquired, stepping deeper into the room and moving to look at the map over his sister's shoulder.

"As I was putting Hope to sleep, I had this feeling. It wasn't just a normal feeling of dread, it was like it was magnified. I rushed in here, hoping I was wrong and everything was okay. I was wrong." Freya gestured to the map of Louisiana in front of her. There were lines moving towards the quarter from one location in particular, the Bayou.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Klaus asked, pointing down at the map. He looked up at Freya with his eyebrows raised, awaiting her answer.

"That is the wolf pack. All of them headed into the Quarter. They're coming straight at us." Freya's eyes flashed to Hope, and then to Hayley.

"They're coming to fight us?" Hayley furrowed her eyebrows, subconsciously taking a step closer to her daughter, ready to protect her at any given moment.

"It seems that way, yeah." Freya nodded, standing up and picking up the map.

"When? Now?" Rebekah asked quietly, careful not to wake Hope who had just fallen asleep on her shoulder.

"Yeah, now." Freya nodded.

"What about Hope?" Hayley looked alarmed as she looked at her daughter.

"Hayley's right. It's not safe for Hope to be here if a fight starts. The wolves know Hope would be an easy way to get to Hayley." Elijah agreed with Hayley.

"I can sort that out." Klaus said, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"What are you going?" Freya asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Calling Camille. I'm sure she will be happy to take care of Hope whilst we dispose of these troublesome wolves who seek to think they can conspire against us and live." Klaus held the phone and spoke to Cami once she answered the call.

"I'll take Hope to Cami. I'll be back. Don't start without me!" Klaus called as he took Hope from Rebekah and rushed out of the living room.

"This is really happening." Hayley muttered to herself. After Klaus had taken Hope from the room, she had walked over to Elijah. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him.

"It will be okay. Like you said downstairs, everything we have been through and everyone we have lost, we found our way to each other. We will do that now." Elijah comforted her, she nodded and rested her head on his shoulder.

The group sat in a comfortable silence as they waited for Klaus to return. Whilst waiting, Rebekah had disappeared and come back with rings for Hayley and Elijah to wear. She said they were the final touch to their elaborate plan. After Klaus had returned to the compound without Hope, they continued to wait for the wolves to show. They devised a plan. Freya would stay out of sight above the fight, aiding her family's fight using her magic. Hayley and Rebekah would fight from the south of the compound, Elijah from the east and Klaus from the north. They came up with the best plan they could in the short time that they had. Even though they only had twenty minutes to prepare for the oncoming fight, they were prepared and in place when the door came crashing open and wolves poured into the courtyard, each of them looking around for an unsuspecting Mikaelson. When neither of the Mikaelson's revealed themselves, Jackson called out to them.

"Hayley Marshall!" He shouted.

When she and Rebekah stepped out of the shadows, he and the rest of the wolf pack cheered.

"You've come here to fight us?" Hayley directed her question at Jackson.

Jackson didn't answer her question, she was answered by another cheer erupting from the wolf pack, it was clear they weren't going to give up their new abilities without a fight.

 _ **And there's chapter two! I really hope you liked it, I loved writing this one!**_

 _ **As always, please leave a review to let me know what you thought!**_

 _ **Lots of love,**_

 _ **Louisaxo**_


	3. Chapter 3

**The Struggle**

 **Chapter 3**

 _ **I am back with the third chapter of The Struggle. I was not going to write this yet, but after the eleventh episode of season four I feel like I need to write this.**_

 _ **As I was watching the episode, I felt like it was getting progressively worse as it went on. Firstly, Elijah's mind in the pendant was breaking and I neatly had a nervous breakdown watching it. Secondly, Jackson showed up and I neatly hit the roof when he started slating Elijah.**_

" _ **Hayley, you fell for the suit." – Was the line of the episode that pissed me off the most.**_

 _ **And THEN – Hayley went to talk to Jackson instead of being by Elijah's side when he came back to life. I understand that she was shocked by what she saw in his mind, but why? On numerous occasions, she has said that she can't let what he's done in the past define him. She's said it several times this season alone.**_

 _ **Now that I feel like Hayley and Elijah aren't going to happen this season I'm fuming so I need to write this to make myself happy again.**_

 _ **On with the chapter…**_

 _Previously_

" _You've come here to fight us?" Hayley directed her question at Jackson._

 _Jackson didn't answer her question, she was answered by another cheer erupting from the wolf pack, it was clear they weren't going to give up their new abilities without a fight._

The wolf pack who had entered the compound remained stoic, even when Elijah stepped into the courtyard from the east and Klaus from the north.

"I _do_ hope you aren't about to do something stupid." Elijah put his hands in his trouser pockets coolly. Jackson glared at him, reciprocating Elijah's actions and shoving his left hand into his jacket pocket.

"Jackson, what exactly are you after?" Hayley asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Hayley, you aren't going to get what you want from us." Jackson gestured to the pack with both of his arms.

"You didn't answer my question." Hayley replied shortly.

"The way we see it. We kill you, we get rid of the issue. You're done and we don't have to fight anymore, and according to the elders we will be able to keep our new abilities because the ritual was until death do you and Jack part." Jackson's second in command, Oliver, spoke up.

Hayley shook her head and looked down.

"And how exactly are you planning to kill us once I have torn your head from your neck?" Klaus asked Oliver as he put his hands behind his back, clasping his hands behind him.

Oliver smirked, thinking that his newfound abilities would give him an advantage over the family of Originals.

"No, we don't need to kill her. We need her at a disadvantage." One of the wolves in the back yelled.

The wolves started talking amongst themselves loudly.

"The child!" One of them yelled. The Mikaelson's head snapped towards the man who had shouted. The group of wolves surrounding the man cheered and yelled, realising that Hayley's greatest weakness was in fact, Hope.

Two of the wolves slowly tried to sneak away from the group, headed for the stairs that would take them to where they thought Hope would be, Klaus sped over and quickly relieved them of their hearts. He turned to face the remaining wolves, the hearts of the two recently deceased wolves in his hands.

"Now then, does anyone else want to attempt to threaten my daughter? I assure you your death will be much slower and much more painful." Klaus threatened, dropping the hearts to the ground. They splattered on the ground, deep red blood pooling underneath them.

When Hayley turned back to Jackson after watching Klaus, his face was consorted with anger.

"You are just going to let him kill two of your pack?" Jackson spat at Hayley through his teeth.

"You mean the pack that have betrayed me to come and kill me and my family? Yeah I think I am gonna let him." Hayley tilted her head to the side as she answered Jackson.

As a large group, the wolves stepped forward. The Mikaelson's, including Hayley, remained where they were standing.

"So now you know what will happen if you do choose to fight us, are you going to run along?" Rebekah nodded in the direction of the door, although her comment seemed to make the wolf pack angrier.

"Hell no." Jackson took a few steps forward, the pack following suit.

"You won't kill us. If you kill us, you will have nobody to protect the child." Oliver argued from Jackson's side.

"We will protect Hope ourselves. We do _not_ need a group of _puppies_ to protect her." Elijah regarded the wolves coolly.

The wolves took another step forward, understanding that a fight was imminent. The Mikaelson's followed suit, taking a step towards the pack.

"You do understand that you do not have the means to kill an Original?" Klaus inquired.

"We aren't stupid. We aren't here to kill an original, we're here to kill Hayley." One of the other wolves called out, nodding in the direction of Hayley. The unnamed wolf had obviously not had any previous experience with the Originals.

"Then you understand that coming after Hayley means you are coming after all of us, which is a ridiculously foolish endeavour in itself. If you come for one of us, you come for all of us." Rebekah stated, her family orientated traits showing.

"Then we'll come for all of you!" One of the wolves yelled. This is what triggered the fight, as soon as the last word had left the wolfs mouth, the remaining wolves had started run forward, some of them branching off from the group to fight Elijah and Klaus.

The fight went on for what felt like hours, when in reality it had only been a matter of minutes. The wolves' numbers had decreased drastically, each of the fallen wolves on the ground. Freya had helped massively, aiding her family to destroy the wolves if they were preoccupied. On one occasion, a wolf had approached Hayley from behind whilst she was fighting another wolf. Freya saw and used her magic to snap the wolf's neck.

Now, only Jackson remained after Elijah had taken Oliver's heart from his chest.

Jackson stood in the middle of the compound, looking down at the scattered bodies of the pack around his feet. Each of them were either without a heart, without a head or suffering from severe blood loss.

"Now do you see Jackson? Our pack is broken, gone." Hayley cried as she gestured to the numerous bodies scattered around the courtyard.

Without warning, Jackson leapt towards Hayley, knocking her down onto the ground. She cried out when he knocked her into a nearby wall.

"Ah!" She cried when he grabbed onto her hair. She looked up when his grip loosened on her hair before dropping it completely. She furrowed her brows when Jackson choked and stumbled backwards, the hand he was using to hold her hair immediately going to his chest.

She stood when Jackson fell to the floor, revealing Elijah, who was standing behind him. Elijah held Jackson's heart in his hand, the blood still flowing from it and seeping into the white shirt that Elijah was wearing. He immediately dropped the heart and moved to help Hayley up when Hayley tried to stand. He immediately pulled her to him.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly, his hand going to the back of her head. She rested her head on his shoulder comfortably, wrapping her arms around his torso.

"I'm fine. Thank you." She pulled away from him and kissed him, not realising that Klaus and Rebekah were still standing behind them. Hayley realised they were there when Klaus cleared his throat. Hayley and Elijah reluctantly pulled away from each other.

"Ignore Niklaus. Technically you are married, don't stop on our account." Rebekah smiled and walked up the stairs.

"I'm going to call Camille to bring Hope home and then I'm going to find an unsuspecting tourist to clear up this mess." Hayley and Elijah nodded before Klaus walked up the stairs behind Rebekah.

"You sure you're okay?" Freya asked, tilting her head in the direction of Hayley.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just ready for Hope to be home I think."

"She will be. Soon enough." Freya smiled warmly before following her brother up the stairs.

As soon as everyone was gone, Hayley and Elijah sped up the stairs and onto the balcony attached to his bedroom. She leant against the railing, looking into his vast bedroom. She smiled, noticing the bag on the bed.

"You're moving back home?" She grinned when Elijah nodded.

"I am. It's much better than living across the river. Besides, who other than me would be able to assist you with Klaus' shenanigans?" Elijah joked, a smirk creeping its way onto his face.

"Good. I didn't like the idea of you being so far away." Hayley squeezed Elijah's hand and walked further into the room, approaching the chair in the corner, her wedding dress was slung over the arm. She picked it up and held it in front of her.

"Why is this here?" She turned to Elijah. He walked into the room and walked to her side.

"I wasn't sure what you wanted to do with it." She rolled up the dress in her hands to it was in a tiny ball and approached the blazing fireplace in his bedroom. She crouched down and threw the dress into the flames.

"The sooner all of this is out of my life, the better." She muttered, watching the dress burn up. When the dress was in pieces, she stood and moved to Elijah's side.

"Now what?" She leant her head on his shoulder as they stared out of the window, watching the busy streets of New Orleans.

"Now we find a way to make sure Hope is safe." Hayley nodded before speaking.

"And then we live happily ever after, right?" He shook his head and grinned.

"Always and forever." He promised, reaching for her hand and bringing it to his lips.

Hayley smiled to herself as she watched the busy streets below her. After so many years of living in solitude, she had finally found her family, and someone to love her unconditionally. She was happy, for the first time in what felt like forever, and she would be happier as soon as she held her daughter in her arms again. After the struggles that she had been through, and after all of the hardships with the Mikaelson's in the past years, they had still found a way to love each other and become a family.

 _ **And there is chapter three! I hope you liked it! The next chapter will be a flash forward chapter, which means Hayley and Elijah's wedding!**_

 _ **Please leave a review to let me know what you thought about the chapter, as well as what you thought of episode 11 season 4 of The Originals!**_

 _ **Louisaxo**_


	4. Chapter 4

**The Struggle**

 **Chapter 4**

 _ **Hi guys! I am here with the final chapter of The Struggle! I am so pleased with all of the amazing feedback I have received. It is a writer's greatest accomplishment when their readers like their work!**_

 _ **I hope you have used this story as a place of solace, especially with what is going on between Hayley and Elijah in this season. I feel like the writers do this for every season, they give us tiny little snippets of Haylijah and then they snatch it away. It happened at the end of season one, and then after a few episodes Hayley went crazy when she turned into a hybrid. Then we got an episode in season two before she got married, and then in season three they were finally happy before they had to be put to sleep for five years. Now in season four, I understand that Hope is Hayley's priority, but Haylijah fans have waited patiently for four seasons and we are disappointed yet again. I hope I am wrong and they give us a little bit of Haylijah before the end of the season or I'll cry.**_

 _ **I am so pleased you have enjoyed this fiction, I feel like these stories are a way for all of us to write exactly how we feel and our thoughts when we watched the episodes.**_

 _ **As always, please R &R, I appreciate each piece of feedback I receive. And for anyone who is interested, I have a bunch of Haylijah one shots in the pipeline, keep an eye on my page!**_

 **Six Years Later**

Six years had passed since Jackson and the wolf pack had been extinguished. The Mikaelson's had been together, as well as separated. More foes were fought, and more friends were made, but the Mikaelson's still couldn't get a grasp on their happiness. Everyone had been happy, if only for a few weeks, but then Dahlia came into town with the intention of taking Hope. She was fought, and eventually killed, but at a cost. Klaus had almost betrayed his family in order to kill her, and Kol had been killed by his brother, Finn. Once they had fought Dahlia to ensure Hope was safe, their problems started again when an old friend, Lucien Castle, had come into town. Although he had tried his hardest to destroy the Mikaelson's once he had become the beast, he didn't try hard enough and he was killed, along with Tristan and Aurora.

After all of their enemies were gone, the Mikaelson's thought that their shot at happiness had arrived, they were wrong. The rise of Marcel was the destruction of the Mikaelson's. When Kol and Elijah had been bitten, they thought that was it for the Mikaelson's, that was until Kol gave Freya the idea to put them to sleep until cures were found.

Five years had passed since that day, and now that the Hollow had been vanquished and Elijah had been bought back to the land of the living, it was finally time. It was the day that Hayley had been waiting for, for the last five years. She had thought about her wedding to Elijah every day for the last five years, she would think about it whilst she was raising Hope, as well as when she was out searching for the cures she needed to bring back her family. And eventually she did.

"Would you stand bloody still?" Rebekah huffed as she attempted to fasten the silk covered buttons on the back of Hayley's dress.

"I'm sorry okay? I'm just nervous." Hayley argued softly, looking at her dress in the mirror.

"Nervous about what? You have waited enough time for this day to come Hayley, and now it's finally here." Rebekah grinned as she fastened the final button on the dress.

Hayley turned to face her sister in law, careful not to trample on the beautiful dress.

"I don't know. Isn't it customary to feel nervous on your wedding day?" Hayley walked over to a nearby chair and sat down.

"I have no idea, I have never been married." Rebekah furrowed her eyebrows, moving to the bed where Hayley's veil lay.

"Well we're you nervous when you married Jackson?" Hayley glared at Rebekah, not wanting to rehash the past.

"Of course, I was nervous, why wouldn't I be? I was marrying someone I didn't want to marry and the man that held my heart was down the corridor." Hayley stood and approached the mirror again.

Rebekah smiled at Hayley's answer.

"Well stay here, I'll send Hope to you. You are not under any circumstance to leave this room until I come and get you." Rebekah used her middle finger to point at Hayley warningly. Hayley narrowed her eyebrows at her in the mirror.

"Why can't I leave?

"Because were keeping up with tradition. No seeing the groom before the wedding." Rebekah placed her hands on her hips.

"Tradition? Are you serious? Elijah and I shared a bed last night?" Hayley stopped looking at Rebekah through the mirror and turned to face her.

"And? We need to have at least some tradition!" Rebekah called as she left, her long navy-blue bridesmaid dress flowing behind her.

"Since when has anything in this family being traditional?" Hayley muttered to herself as she ran her hand through her loose curls.

Hayley looked behind her to see if the door was still closed, and she smiled when she saw that Rebekah had in fact left the door open when she had left the room. Hayley picked up the bottom of her dress and thanked god that she hasn't put on her heels yet as she slowly walked out to the room, careful not to alert Rebekah to what she was doing. Hayley slowly walked down the corridor on her toes, ducking into a hallway as Elijah's bedroom door opened and Kol walked out. As Kol didn't know that Hayley was hiding behind a wall he kept on walking, probably to compete a wedding related task his youngest sister had assigned for him. Hayley smiled slightly as Kol reached the bottom of the staircase, she picked up her dress again and walked slowly down the hall to Elijah's room. His door remained ajar, as Kol hadn't closed it behind him when he left. She leant against his doorframe, admiring how dashing he looked in his new wedding suit.

"I'm not sure what Rebekah would say about you being here?" Elijah spoke without turning around, but Hayley knew he was smirking.

"Doesn't matter. What's the point of upholding traditions if we've already broken them?" She stepped into his room and he turned to face her. A wide smile crossed his face when he saw her.

"You look stunning." She ducked her head as he complimented her.

"You exaggerate." She laughed, taking a step closer to him.

"I can assure you, I'm not. What do you think sweetheart? Doesn't mommy look pretty?" Elijah asked Hope as she walked into the room. She was all ready and dressed up in her navy-blue bridesmaid dress, an empty white wicker basket in hand. Rebekah had taken to not filling the basket as the petals would end up everywhere every time Kol would fill up the basket. Hayley was sure it was Kol's intention to irritate Rebekah.

"You do, mommy." Hope's red hair swung as Elijah reached down to pick her up, ensuring that she was eye level with her mother.

"Thank you, honey. You look so pretty, your dress is beautiful." Hayley picked up one of the ruffles on Hope's dress and let it fall through her hand. Rebekah had not let Hayley and Elijah see anything that she had planned until their actual wedding day, the only think they got to finalise was the guest list.

"Thanks mommy." Hope grinned in the arms of her uncle.

"Why don't you go and find Uncle Kol? I'm sure he was having trouble tying his tie, maybe you could help him?" Elijah suggested as he placed Hope on her feet. Hope grinned and sped off in the direction of the place she had seen her uncle last.

"So, we're really doing this huh?" Hayley reached for Elijah's hand and he raised it to his lips.

"We are. Are you having second thoughts?" He asked worriedly.

Hayley shook her head and squeezed his hand.

"No, absolutely not. There is no other place I would rather be, other than right here with you." Hayley raised her left hand and put it on Elijah's cheek.

"You're sure?"

"Elijah, I've never been surer about anything. Is about time we got married properly, after all, we have officially been married for nearly six years." Hayley smiled when Elijah chuckled.

"True." He grinned.

"So where…" Hayley's question of where they were going on their surprise honeymoon was interrupted by Rebekah's voice echoing through the compound.

Hayley winced.

"I'm going to take a wild guess that she's realised that I've broken tradition and come to see you." Hayley grimaced as she heard Rebekah's heels clattering along the wooden flooring in search of her.

"I'd better go and see what she's after." Hayley stood, not letting go of Elijah's hand.

"See you at the end of the alter." He murmured, kissing her hand and letting it go. She grinned and walked from the room, neatly bumping into Rebekah on her way out.

Rebekah said nothing, but her stance showed Hayley everything that she needed to know. As Rebekah was standing straight, arms crossed her chest, Hayley knew she was in trouble.

"What did I say about tradition, huh? Rebekah raised an eyebrow.

"I know what you said Rebekah, but to be honest there's no point. Technically this is our second wedding so tradition isn't really necessary." Hayley argued her point, smirking when Rebekah realised she couldn't argue with Hayley's logic.

Rebekah sighed heavily before speaking.

"Fine! Where's that niece of mine?" Hayley peered over Hayley's shoulder to see whether Hope was still in Elijah's bedroom.

"She went off to help Kol." Hayley replied, following Rebekah down the hall when she turned and headed towards the living room. When they entered, Kol and Davina were sitting together on the couch. Since Davina had been bought back to life, it was impossible to separate her and Davina. Hayley understood completely as she knew exactly how she felt when the Hollow used Elijah in the sacrifice to bring herself back.

"Where's Hope?" Hayley asked as she leant against the arm of the couch, ensuring that she wasn't standing on her dress.

"Freya offered to do her hair, so Hope went with her." Davina replied.

"How long ago? Do you think they'll be ready for the ceremony?" Rebekah stressed.

"Everything will be fine, Rebekah. Besides, it's only the family and a few others. It doesn't matter if the ceremony starts at a specific time." Hayley said, her comment seemed to calm Rebekah slightly.

"Right." Rebekah nodded, turning on her heel and leaving the room, probably to search for Hope and Freya.

A few minutes after Rebekah had left, Klaus had walked in, his expression slightly irked.

"What's wrong with you?" Hayley furrowed her eyebrows.

"Rebekah banished me from the courtyard, saying that she wanted everyone gathered in here before the wedding starts so she can see that everyone is ready." He rolled his eyes at his sister's antics.

One by one, everyone filed into the living room. Hope after Klaus, and then Freya after Hope. Finally, Rebekah walked in, looking slightly flustered.

"Where's Elijah?" Hayley asked as she stood and approached Rebekah.

"He's downstairs. Kol, you can go down now." Rebekah instructed. Kol sighed and kissed Davina before he stood and left the room. As Klaus was going to give Hayley away, Elijah had chosen Kol to be best man.

"Would you look at that? Everyone's ready and it's not even one yet." Rebekah turned to look at the clock before turning back to the group. The ceremony was due to start at one.

"Let's go then." Rebekah started to usher people out of the room. Hope stayed for a moment to hug her mother but she left soon after.

Hayley said nothing as she moved to one of the armchairs to sit down.

"You alright little wolf?" Klaus asked, offering her a glass of whiskey.

"I'm fine. Just a bit nervous I think." Hayley took a sip of the whiskey, hoping it would ease her nerves.

"It's completely natural to be nervous Hayley."

"I know. Once I am down there and I see him at the end of the aisle I'll be fine." Hayley put her glass down and smoothed out her dress.

"Speaking of. It's time to go." Klaus offered his arm to Hayley and she stood, linking her arm with his.

"For goodness sake don't let me fall." Hayley muttered as she took note of the ridiculously high heels Rebekah had picked out.

"That's the least of your worries." Hayley laughed at Klaus' response.

The pair walked down the stairs and into the courtyard. Hayley didn't look up as she walked down the stairs and towards the aisle. Once she had reached the end of the aisle, she looked up and grinned, seeing Elijah waiting for her at the end of the aisle. Hayley walked down the aisle slowly, wanting to savour the memory forever. Once they reached the end, Klaus unhooked Hayley's arm from his and gave her hand to Elijah.

"Please be seated." The wedding officiant asked. Everyone sat and waited for the ceremony to start. Before the reverend spoke, Hayley turned and handed her flowers to Rebekah.

"We are here today to celebrate the marriage of Hayley and Elijah." Hayley and Elijah looked to at each other and joined their hands.

"Does anyone here present have any reason why this ceremony should not take place." The reverend asked the typically dreaded question, nobody spoke.

"Hayley and Elijah each have something to say." The reverend gestured to Elijah to start speaking.

"Hayley. In all of the time that I have lived, there was always something missing from my life, but I could never quite grasp what it was. And then all of those years ago we met in that graveyard and you asked me 'who the hell I was'." Elijah and Hayley both laughed at the memory.

"You gave this family Hope, and you bought this family back together, it's one of the many reasons I love you." Hayley grinned at Elijah, raising her hand to his cheek.

All of the guests turned to Hayley expectantly.

"I'm not sure what I can say to top that. Well, when I first met you I was completely alone, and you made me feel so safe. There wasn't really anyone else who had ever made me feel so safe before, and it's the reason I first fell for you. The day we met, you promised to protect me from all harm, and you have since that day. Then we lost you, and I had the chance to return the favour when we bought you back." Hayley smiled a teary smile, not moving her hand from Elijah's cheek as she leant over to kiss him.

"Then it is my pleasure that I can now announce Elijah and Hayley husband and wife, once again. You may kiss the bride." The reverend spoke happily, taking a step back from the couple.

Without hesitation, Hayley leant over and kissed Elijah again, ignoring the rest of the people in the room. When they pulled away from each other after a few moments, Elijah rested his forehead against Hayley's.

"I love you." She murmured, so that only he could hear.

"I love you, too. Always and forever." He replied, earning a laugh and another kiss from Hayley.

From that moment on, she knew that there was not another thing in life that could harm them. Each member of the Mikaelson family had fought hard to be where they were, and now they were going to live the happy life they had fought so hard for.

 _ **And that's the final chapter! I really hope you liked reading this story as much as I loved writing it!**_

 _ **Please don't hesitate to leave a review to let me know what you thought of the story, or what you are currently thinking about The Originals at the moment!**_

 _ **Lots of love,**_

 _ **Louisaxo**_


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